Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

My undergraduate and medical school training were marked by a deep commitment to serving local uninsured communities in North Carolina, where few safety-net services existed. As an undergraduate, I was an active leader and Spanish interpreter for a local free medical clinic. In medical school, I was the Executive Co-Director of the Delivering Equal Access to Care (DEAC) free medical clinic and worked to improve clinical outcomes among the most at-risk patients in our community. I witnessed firsthand the profound impact of the social determinants of health on patients’ daily lives. These experiences motivated me to focus my clinical practice and research within disadvantaged and minoritized communities.

I began my residency training at Boston Medical Center in 2020 and was immediately struck by the institutional culture and ubiquitous commitment to serving structurally disadvantaged communities. Starting my internship at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the immeasurable reach of racial and economic injustices plaguing our nation. This only strengthened my personal commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. I am continuously humbled by the experiences and insights shared by our patients. I became a certified Spanish-language provider to connect more deeply with my patients at the East Boston Community Health Center, which serves a predominantly Latinx population. I am honored to be a part of an institution that deliberately incorporates diversity and equity into its everyday operations.

As a health equity researcher, I am motivated to investigate upstream drivers of health inequity and develop strategies to overcome them. During my research experience at the National Institutes of Health, I worked with a multidisciplinary community advisory board to develop interventions to reduce cardiovascular disease risk among Black women. I remain committed to incorporating diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences into my ongoing research activities. I am currently examining socioeconomic drivers of chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression among racially segregated communities in Boston, MA. My other research activities include characterizing CKD risk among South Asian adults in the United States and participating in the CURE (CKD of UnceRtain Etiology) Consortium, a group of investigators dedicated to understanding the cause of widespread kidney failure among rural, agricultural communities of Central America, Sri Lanka, and India. I hope to translate the findings from these epidemiologic studies characterizing disparities into implementation studies to address the root causes of health inequities.

As an early career physician, I am actively working to develop a clinical practice and research agenda that enriches the lives of historically disadvantaged patients. I also hope to serve as a career mentor for women in academic medicine and promote the advancement of underrepresented individuals in medicine.

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In addition to these self-described keywords below, a list of MeSH based concepts is available here.

Chronic Kidney Disease
Community Health Systems
Diabetic Kidney Disease
Health Equity
Social Determinants of Health
Epidemiology
Cardiovascular Disease

Available to Mentor as: (Review Mentor Role Definitions):

• Advisor
• Project Mentor